(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote control device that transmits remote control signals to control various apparatuses, and more specifically, it relates to a remote control device operable to control each of the apparatuses individually.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In recent years, more and more electrical apparatuses, such as audio-video, air-conditioning, and lighting apparatuses, have been provided with a function that enables the apparatuses to be controlled from a distant place using a remote control device designed for each apparatus.
A remote control device designed for one apparatus has a function to send out, according to user operations such as pressing of a button, an infrared or radiowave remote control signal having a waveform predetermined as a command for controlling the apparatus. Accordingly, if the user has the remote control device designed for the apparatus at hand, the usercan controltheapparatus instantlybysuchmeans aspressing the button on the remote control device.
The number of electrical apparatuses having the remote control function, however, has become increasingly larger these days, and it would be inconvenient if the user always has to carry many kinds of remote control devices designed for each of the electrical apparatuses in order to control the electrical apparatuses freely.
Conventionally, there has been a remote control device provided with as many buttons as necessary for controlling more than one apparatus, such as a remote control device having all the buttons to control both a TV and a VCR, for example. Such a remote control device has a lot of buttons, however, and it takes more than a moment for the user to find an appropriate button for a desired function, and therefore it is not very convenient to use such a remote control device. Similarly, a remote control device having a button for switching a target apparatus to be controlled is not very convenient, because using such a remote control device increases a number of times to press buttons for the user operations.
As one solution to such a problem, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. H7-123479 discloses a remote control device operable to transmit remote control signals toward each of a plurality of apparatuses selectively, and has a light receptionunitthatreceives light froma predetermineddirection in the remote control device. The remote control device according to H7-123479 specifies an apparatus as the target apparatus to be controlled by an apparatus identification signal from one of the apparatuses received via the light reception unit, and allocates the remote control signals for controlling the target apparatus to each key on the remote control device.
According to the above-described remote control device, y adjusting the direction of the remote control device so as to receive the apparatus identification signal from a desired apparatus, the user can easily control the desired apparatus.
However, according to the remote control device of H7-123479, which specifies an apparatus as the target apparatus by receiving the apparatus identification signal from the predetermined direction, it could happen in some cases that the user controls an apparatus different from an apparatus that the user has originally intended to control, because the apparatus identification signal can reflect on house walls and such when used inside a house. Moreover, when an apparatus A, an apparatus B, and the remote control device are substantially aligned, and if the remote control device receives the apparatus identification signal from the apparatus B, the user controls the apparatus B using the remote control device even if the user has originally intended to control the apparatus A.